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Showing posts with label comics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label comics. Show all posts
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
JUMC: Year One (or "Lessons from Frank Miller's Batman")
In 1988, while attending Edinboro University (where I met both my future wife Robyn and my longtime friend Dayton), I went to Pittsburgh for a weekend to visit my friend Marie Waun (whose mother was, ironically enough given my current vocation, a United Methodist pastor) and to watch with Marie the premiere of the U2 concert film Rattle and Hum. Great movie for a U2 fan...good weekend overall.
Before catching the Greyhound bus for the trip back to Edinboro, I stopped at Eide's Entertainment to purchase something to read on the long trip back to school.
I had heard a great deal about Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, and was glad to finally have a chance to read this "graphic novel", which had been turning the world of comic books on its ear. I devoured the book on the bus ride, finishing it just as the vehicle pulled into the university lot.
It is not overstating the truth to state that this book changed my life. There are a lot of reasons for this. DKR introduced me to postmodern thinking, to new ways of storytelling, to the idea of "metanarrative" (which has become so important in my theology), and, indirectly, to "film noir", to semiotics, and to host of other ideas. It has been hugely influential; I can hardly imagine American Psycho, Fight Club, or Quentin Tarantino without Miller's DKR (OK, that may be overstating a bit...it's likely, however, that all those creative people were drinking water from the same well as Frank Miller). Beyond all that, it's just a really good story, told exceptionally well.
I was interested, therefore, in Miller's "prequel", called Batman: Year One, which, obviously, told the story of how Batman came to be (as opposed to DKR, which deals with his final days).
In both DKR and Year One, Miller is a patient storyteller who writes about a very patient (though extremely passionate) man. Bruce Wayne doesn't simply decide to become a vigilante and immediately engage criminals in fisticuffs;
he observes, prepares, learns "the lay of the land", determines the identities of the "power players", and makes proper connections, beginning to build the appropriate relationships he'll need to accomplish his crime-fighting mission.
Not a bad model. That's pretty much what I've been trying to do, and, now, my first year at JUMC is nearly complete. I've spent "year one" trying to observe, prepare, learn "the lay of the land", determine the identities of the "power players", and make proper connections, beginning to build the appropriate relationships I'll need to lead JUMC in accomplishing our disciple-making mission.
I've discovered a lot about the congregation, her history, the area in which God has placed us, and, surprisingly, myself.
Allow me to risk being a mite unorthodox for a moment. I've come to believe that perhaps the Church has it slightly wrong. Our Book of Discipline states that our mission is "to make disciples of Jesus Christ", but, properly speaking, it's the Spirit who makes disciples, not us. The best we can do is to faithfully allow ourselves to be used by the Spirit to do great things...large or small.
We
shouldn't get too caught up in programs or programming. Programs can be good, and can indeed point us to larger truths. But it seems to me that "programming" is so yesterday, so Baby Boomer; it's like placing the Adam West TV "Batman" into a post-DKR universe...he may catch a few bad guys, but he'll be largely ineffective in the bigger picture.
Instead of programming (which is entirely supported by the somewhat dated idea of "making disciples"), relationship-building is a far more authentic approach in this 21st century, richly complex, post-postmodern world. In Frank Miller's world, for instance, there are all kinds of programs, for all kinds of purposes, but there are precious few meaningful relationships, which, in Miller's apocalyptic approach, results in the fall of western civilization.
This brings me back to a ministry theme to which I often return...the idea of incarnational ministry. We need to go where the people are, not simply invite them to our building with our latest neato program. We need to eat lunch with them in their homes or their favorite restaurants, not just invite them to our latest potluck supper or spaghetti dinner. We need to get to know the people in our communities by name, so we can give an authentic "hello" in the grocery store...and by vehicle, so that we can wave knowingly when they drive past. Just as important, they need to know us, so they can respond without having to question our motivations. We don't build relationships to make more church members, but simply out of love.
At any rate, with the "year one" business out of the way, it's time for me to look beyond now, and begin to really allow the Spirit to transform our life together and our approach to ministry. Same bat-time, same bat-channel...but hopefully with more bat-wisdom.
Before catching the Greyhound bus for the trip back to Edinboro, I stopped at Eide's Entertainment to purchase something to read on the long trip back to school.
I had heard a great deal about Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, and was glad to finally have a chance to read this "graphic novel", which had been turning the world of comic books on its ear. I devoured the book on the bus ride, finishing it just as the vehicle pulled into the university lot.It is not overstating the truth to state that this book changed my life. There are a lot of reasons for this. DKR introduced me to postmodern thinking, to new ways of storytelling, to the idea of "metanarrative" (which has become so important in my theology), and, indirectly, to "film noir", to semiotics, and to host of other ideas. It has been hugely influential; I can hardly imagine American Psycho, Fight Club, or Quentin Tarantino without Miller's DKR (OK, that may be overstating a bit...it's likely, however, that all those creative people were drinking water from the same well as Frank Miller). Beyond all that, it's just a really good story, told exceptionally well.
I was interested, therefore, in Miller's "prequel", called Batman: Year One, which, obviously, told the story of how Batman came to be (as opposed to DKR, which deals with his final days).
In both DKR and Year One, Miller is a patient storyteller who writes about a very patient (though extremely passionate) man. Bruce Wayne doesn't simply decide to become a vigilante and immediately engage criminals in fisticuffs;
he observes, prepares, learns "the lay of the land", determines the identities of the "power players", and makes proper connections, beginning to build the appropriate relationships he'll need to accomplish his crime-fighting mission.Not a bad model. That's pretty much what I've been trying to do, and, now, my first year at JUMC is nearly complete. I've spent "year one" trying to observe, prepare, learn "the lay of the land", determine the identities of the "power players", and make proper connections, beginning to build the appropriate relationships I'll need to lead JUMC in accomplishing our disciple-making mission.
I've discovered a lot about the congregation, her history, the area in which God has placed us, and, surprisingly, myself.
Allow me to risk being a mite unorthodox for a moment. I've come to believe that perhaps the Church has it slightly wrong. Our Book of Discipline states that our mission is "to make disciples of Jesus Christ", but, properly speaking, it's the Spirit who makes disciples, not us. The best we can do is to faithfully allow ourselves to be used by the Spirit to do great things...large or small.
We
shouldn't get too caught up in programs or programming. Programs can be good, and can indeed point us to larger truths. But it seems to me that "programming" is so yesterday, so Baby Boomer; it's like placing the Adam West TV "Batman" into a post-DKR universe...he may catch a few bad guys, but he'll be largely ineffective in the bigger picture.Instead of programming (which is entirely supported by the somewhat dated idea of "making disciples"), relationship-building is a far more authentic approach in this 21st century, richly complex, post-postmodern world. In Frank Miller's world, for instance, there are all kinds of programs, for all kinds of purposes, but there are precious few meaningful relationships, which, in Miller's apocalyptic approach, results in the fall of western civilization.
This brings me back to a ministry theme to which I often return...the idea of incarnational ministry. We need to go where the people are, not simply invite them to our building with our latest neato program. We need to eat lunch with them in their homes or their favorite restaurants, not just invite them to our latest potluck supper or spaghetti dinner. We need to get to know the people in our communities by name, so we can give an authentic "hello" in the grocery store...and by vehicle, so that we can wave knowingly when they drive past. Just as important, they need to know us, so they can respond without having to question our motivations. We don't build relationships to make more church members, but simply out of love.
At any rate, with the "year one" business out of the way, it's time for me to look beyond now, and begin to really allow the Spirit to transform our life together and our approach to ministry. Same bat-time, same bat-channel...but hopefully with more bat-wisdom.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Which Superhero are you?
Your results:
You are
Spider-Man.
You are intelligent, witty, a bit geeky
and have great power and responsibility.
Click here to take the "Which Superhero are you?" quiz...
You are
Spider-Man.
You are intelligent, witty, a bit geeky
and have great power and responsibility.
| Spider-Man | 70% | |
| Superman | 65% | |
| Robin | 49% | |
| Batman | 40% | |
| Green Lantern | 40% | |
| Hulk | 35% | |
| Catwoman | 35% | |
| Supergirl | 32% | |
| The Flash | 30% | |
| Iron Man | 25% | |
| Wonder Woman | 22% |
Click here to take the "Which Superhero are you?" quiz...
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
On this date...
Bob Kane was born on this date in 1915. 
Kane, who died in 1998, was a true American treasure. An artist and writer of comic books, Kane, inspired in part by Zorro, in 1939 created "Batman", one of the greatest superheroes ever created and arguably one of twentieth century literature's greatest characters.
Among the other great characters created by Bob Kane were the Joker, Catwoman, and Robin the Boy Wonder.
Throughout the years, many fine writers, artists, and filmmakers have put their own spin on Kane's creations. In the 1980s, Frank Miller's take on the Batman "mythology", The Dark Knight Returns, not only was a revolution in the superhero comics medium, but jumpstarted the Batman film franchise and also led to the modern fascination with superhero films.
What wonderful stories we owe to Bob Kane! What joy his work has brought to the world! Today, I thank God for Bob Kane!
Kane, who died in 1998, was a true American treasure. An artist and writer of comic books, Kane, inspired in part by Zorro, in 1939 created "Batman", one of the greatest superheroes ever created and arguably one of twentieth century literature's greatest characters.Among the other great characters created by Bob Kane were the Joker, Catwoman, and Robin the Boy Wonder.
Throughout the years, many fine writers, artists, and filmmakers have put their own spin on Kane's creations. In the 1980s, Frank Miller's take on the Batman "mythology", The Dark Knight Returns, not only was a revolution in the superhero comics medium, but jumpstarted the Batman film franchise and also led to the modern fascination with superhero films.
What wonderful stories we owe to Bob Kane! What joy his work has brought to the world! Today, I thank God for Bob Kane!
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Batwoman
The media seems distracted and a bit shocked at the recent announcement that DC Comics is reviving the long-defunct character Batwoman as a lesbian (see the story here). 
A silly character to begin with, the fact that she wasn't a functioning part of the DC Universe for decades was merciful. Now, as part of the year-long project 52, Batwoman is being revived and, apparently, will be a homosexual.
Why is this disturbing, much less newsworthy?
The best superhero comic books have always been story-driven and character-driven. Stan Lee's classic work on Spider-Man and The Fantastic Four (aided usually by the brilliant Jack Kirby, the god of comic book artists), Roy Thomas' mid-1970s sagas starring the Avengers, Marv Wolfman and George Perez's wonderful 1980s work on New Teen Titans, Chris Claremont's years on X-Men, Geoff Johns' work on JSA, and Grant Morrison's work on JLA all succeeded because they were driven by well-written stories, not for any peripheral reasons. This is especially true for Alan Moore's Watchmen and Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, phenomenal pieces of work which demythologized the superhero genre and changed the way subsequent writers approached the medium.
My point is simply that if Batwoman's sexuality is driven by a well-written story, then great. Yes, if it's part of some "master plan" to push a particular political agenda, that's a real shame. But it seems to me that the writers handling the project have a real opportunity to do some quality work here. The media (and comic book fans especially) ought to give them a chance.
A silly character to begin with, the fact that she wasn't a functioning part of the DC Universe for decades was merciful. Now, as part of the year-long project 52, Batwoman is being revived and, apparently, will be a homosexual.Why is this disturbing, much less newsworthy?
The best superhero comic books have always been story-driven and character-driven. Stan Lee's classic work on Spider-Man and The Fantastic Four (aided usually by the brilliant Jack Kirby, the god of comic book artists), Roy Thomas' mid-1970s sagas starring the Avengers, Marv Wolfman and George Perez's wonderful 1980s work on New Teen Titans, Chris Claremont's years on X-Men, Geoff Johns' work on JSA, and Grant Morrison's work on JLA all succeeded because they were driven by well-written stories, not for any peripheral reasons. This is especially true for Alan Moore's Watchmen and Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, phenomenal pieces of work which demythologized the superhero genre and changed the way subsequent writers approached the medium.
My point is simply that if Batwoman's sexuality is driven by a well-written story, then great. Yes, if it's part of some "master plan" to push a particular political agenda, that's a real shame. But it seems to me that the writers handling the project have a real opportunity to do some quality work here. The media (and comic book fans especially) ought to give them a chance.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
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